June 24 2015 – Our Fleetwood Mac London review begins with a recap of the last 7 days – we caught Rush in their (and ours) hometown of Toronto (review here), then in Belfast we watched The Who from the first row (review here), and tonight we journey into London’s O2 Arena for Fleetwood Mac. Let’s Get On With The Show ….
June 24 2015, was the fourth of six London shows and as expected the venue was completely sold out. We were able to pick up a front row seat a couple of hours before the show at a decent price which was easily justified. This is the fourth show we have seen Fleetwood Mac on this “On With The Show” tour (2 Toronto shows and 1 Buffalo show previously), and the band is as sharp as ever.
It must be said that the O2 Arena in London is the best indoor concert venue in the planet. Everything is just right about it, from the tons of restaurants surrounding it, to the tube/subway station at its front door, easy access, great sightlines, fantastic sound, and the list goes on.
The special occasion was that tonight was Mick Fleetwood’s 68th birthday and as such we had Nick singing Happy Birthday along with Buckingham accompanying on the acoustic guitar right before Landslide (video below). The only difference in terms of setlist from what we have seen (and was a standard in the North American leg) was the unexplainable removal of “Seven Wonders” from the setlist.
Everything that happened tonight was almost per script to the previous shows on this tour, so we will use our text from our previous reviews below, with modifications as needed for the London show.
Take 9 parts Rumours, mix up with 6 parts Fleetwood Mac, 3 parts Tango In The Night. Top up with 3 parts Tusk and a sprinkle of Mirage. Bring back 1 part not deemed good enough for Rumours and your 70’s nostalgia recipe served by chefs Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood and John Mcvie is as close to aural perfection as anything available these days.
Fleetwood Mac is a group of 5 people whose personal lives are well documented for the world – more than any of us should have a right to know about. We all know about their rise to fame and conquering the charts with Rumours, we know about their over-indulgence of drugs and alcohol, but mostly we know the tales about their relationships and their disastrous breakups. Their story is so fascinating that it can only be real life – you can’t make up stuff like this.
London, England was the site for the June 24 2015 show of the On With The Show tour that featured a Fleetwood Mac that finally had its missing songbird back in the fold. While introducing Dreams, Stevie Nicks claimed this was the 95th show of the tour and again the main point is that Christine McVie is back.
Much like a three-ring circus the spotlight was spread amongst the three-ring leaders McVie, Nicks and Buckingham. With the steady beat provided by Fleetwood and (the other) McVie this was easily the most polished we have ever seen the band. The huge ultra HD video screen behind the musicians added an insane experience to the whole effect. The videos were incredibly appropriate and enhanced the show greatly. There were also three smaller screens above the stage used to great effect.
Even though I stated there were three ringleaders riding high on talent and charisma this truly was Buckingham’s show. It is beyond comprehension that this man is officially a senior citizen but is in better shape than dudes 30 years younger than him. His epic turn at the spotlight with Go Your Own Way, Big Love, Never Going Back Again and in particular the 9 minute I’m So Afraid reminded us once again that this man is up there on the pantheon of classic rock gods with Jimmy Page and David Gilmour. I am not a professional concert reviewer so no matter how hard I try I can’t come up with any words to do the spectacle so make sure you catch our YouTube videos of the night at the bottom of the article.
The 3 ring circus was fueled by the ladies as well. On one end of the scale we had Buckingham and his high-octane energy (even in the acoustic songs), and on the other side we had the mellow love musings of Stevie Nicks. The only person in the world that can get 20,000+ people screaming just by doing a twirl she captivated us with her usual staples such as Landslide, Rhiannon, Silver Springs, Gypsy and Dreams. Landslide is usually dedicated to someone on this tour, and tonight was no exception. Nicks dedicated Landslide to the birthday boy Mick Fleetwood tonight to loud cheering.
The balance between the Nicks Buckingham dynamic was of course the homecoming queen of the night Christine McVie. Her turn at the spotlight finally brought us back songs after her 16 year absence such as You Make Loving Fun, Little Lies, Over My Head, Everywhere and the most emotional moment of the night – the show closer Songbird. McVie delivered that powerful ballad on her grand piano sounding just like she did in 1977 – Buckingham strolled on stage and joined her halfway through the song to make the occasion one for remember for all in attendance.
Although as mentioned the 3 front liners had the spotlight most of the night there were moments where Fleetwood took center stage (quite literally for Gypsy) such as his drum solo for World Turning or his end of concert speech. John McVie even took the spotlight for his 10 second bass solo in The Chain but disappeared in the shadows the rest of the night.
This concert differed from the band’s previous tour with the removal of Sad Angel, Not That Funny, Sara, Without You, Eyes of the World, Stand Back and Say Goodbye and the addition of the mostly McVie related songs – You Make Loving Fun, Everywhere, I Know I’m Not Wrong, Say You Love Me, Over My Head, Little Lies, and Songbird. The night ended with some lucky fans scooping up a Buckingham autograph for their collections.
The last couple of years proved to be a very interesting year for Fleetwood Mac and T-Mak World. As a huge fan of the band I was able to purchase a front row center ticket for the band and wrote a very detailed review as seen from the holy grail of concert seating which any fan of the band should read here. Furthermore that review included a Mick Fleetwood Meet and Greet and I wrote up about that experience as well (read here). As if that VIP package wasn’t amazing enough I was also able to see them at a private function in Las Vegas in a hall that resembled a big wedding style banquet hall – that review can be read here.
We now revisit our fun top 10 list:
Things learned from front row at a Fleetwood Mac concert.
1) Buckingham hardly ever uses a guitar pick
2) The stage height is exactly chin level for a 5’10” dude
3) You can not use the stage as a resting spot for your beer in London but you can in Newark.
4) Fans are encouraged to stand and swarm the stage once the lights go down in the venue – in fact a big roadie walks around and brings up young energetic and good looking people up to the front to build a bigger buzz for the band. Tip – if you have a ticket in the first few rows just get up and get right up to the stage as soon as the lights go down – security will not object.
5) You can hear exactly at what point the audience is most excited about based on their applause. Secondary point – women really really really really dig Stevie Nicks.
6) It is actually not very loud in the front row – the speakers are pointed further back from where you are.
7) Buckingham plays around and has plenty of eye contact with the audience up front, Nicks not very much.
8) The rock star persona is really demystified when they are performing that close to you – you can see the sweat and the intense concentration in the eyes to hit the timing.
9) Time flies in a mysterious Twilight Zone sort of way
10) You wouldn’t know it but John McVie is still part of this band – although he certainly spent no time in the spotlight.
Verdict: 5 out of 5 – As a classic rock aficionado I am hard to pressed to think of any other huge band from the 70’s that is touring with its complete lineup and sounding so incredibly tight with a powerful and emotional stage show to back up the music. Fleetwood Mac’s On With The Show Tour is a leading contender the best concert of 2015.
We leave you with a bunch of videos to capture the memory of the night.
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